Crew signs Argentine star Barros Schelotto

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Major League Soccer locked up another
high-profile international player when Argentine star Guillermo
Barros Schelotto signed a two-year contract with the Columbus Crew.

Crew general manager Mark McCullers confirmed the signing on
Wednesday.

The 33-year-old Barros Schelotto won 15 titles with the famed
Argentina club Boca Juniors. But his playing time diminished in
recent years as young, budding stars climbed the ranks with the
team.

He is expected to arrive in Columbus either Sunday night or
Monday morning and will spend all of next week with the Crew before
returning to Argentina for a fan farewell on April 29. He will then
return with his family and begin practicing with the team.

His first game would be May 5 at Kansas City and his first home
game on May 12 against Chivas USA.

Barros Schelotto's signing follows the announcement of the
pending arrivals of England's David Beckham to the Los Angeles
Galaxy and Mexico's Cuauhtemoc Blanco to the Chicago Fire, and
comes one day after the New York Red Bulls announced the
acquisition of Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel.

"It establishes credibility, it raises our profile in the
international soccer market to have a player of this caliber to
come to our club -- and be interested in coming to our club,''
McCullers said. "So it accomplishes all of those things, and
obviously competitively it provides us with one of the top players
in the world, certainly in Argentinian football.''

Barros Schelotto comes to a Crew team that had the worst record
in the league last year and has failed to score in two ties so far
this season.

McCullers declined to reveal salary figures. The signing was
first reported by The Columbus Dispatch.

Angel will join former U.S. international midfielder Claudio
Reyna at the Red Bulls, but unlike the other signings, Barros
Schelotto will not join the Crew under MLS' "designated player
rule.''

Last November, the MLS adopted what it called its designated
player rule, which allows clubs to sign international players
outside the $2.1 million salary cap.

Barros Schelotto came to the Buenos Aires club in 1997 from
Argentine side Gimnasia of La Plata. It didn't take long for him to
become one of the nation's most popular soccer stars with almost a
cult following.

He scored 87 goals in 302 matches over the next nine years. Team
titles followed, including Copa Libertadores in 2000, 2001 and
2003, besides world club titles in 2000 and 2003.

Several Argentine publications have mentioned that the recently
completed season might be his last for Boca Juniors.
"Guille,'' as he is known in his native land, is one of the
most decorated players in Argentina. His teams have also won six
league championships.